Improvement in railroad switches



`c. H. WHITE.

`Railroad Switches.

ws e s l M/O( I AM, PHoToinHosRAFH/c ca Ammann/'51s moms) UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE.N

CHARLES H. WHITE, OF IVHITE STATION, MICHIGAN.

IMPROVEMENT IN RAILROAD SWITCHES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 139,220, dated May 20,1873; application filed April 3,1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES H. WHITE, of White Station, in the county ofCalhoun and State of Michigan, have invented certain Improvements inRailroad Switches, of which the following is a specification:

This invention relates to improvements in the construction andarrangement ofparts, and particularly in the guard or guiderails,whereby a more simple, accurate, and reliable switch is obtained thanheretofore has been in use, and by means of which a train can be movedfrom any side track to the main track without changing or moving theguiderails, they being moved only when atrain is to be switched from themain to a side track. These improvements consist of guide orguard-rails, made in two parts and jointed 5 also of peculiar blocks andwedges and tongues for securing them to the moving bar; and also in theconstruction of the bed for the frogs.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a plan view of the switch. Fig. 2 is across-section thereof, taken on line :c ac. Fig. 3 is an enlarged viewofthe `joint of the guide-rails showing the wedges or blocks for holdingthem in place.

The letters a ct represent ties, preferably of iron, upon which therails b of the main track are secured. cc are ties resting on a bed, d,of wood upon which the parts of the switch are laid. c is thc movingbar, which is connected with its operating-lever f by any suitablemechanism, as, for instance, a toothed rack and pinion. The wood bedupon which the frogs are laid is fitted snugly between the rails b b, asshown in Fig. 2, and is about one-half as thick as the height of therail. By this means it is necessary to form the frogs only about onehalfas thick as formerly, and this I do, using Bessemer steel, whereby agreat saving of metal is effected, besides materially reducing theircost. A A are the frogs, welded or otherwise formed, as just described,and secured over the bed cl on ties c c. Two rails are shown on thesefrogs, but of course one or more may be made, if desired. g h are theguard orguide-rails, made of two pieces, jointed at c' by a ball andsocket or other suitable connection. When I use the ball-and-socketjointand I prefer itI form a recess or socket in the under side of onerail and make the ball or tongue on the other, so as to iit into thissocket. The socket and ball each being `of about one-half the thicknessof the rails and fitted together, as described, the joint isnot exposedon top. In Figs. 1 and 3 this joint is shown in dotted lines, and inFig. 2, a crosssection of it is shown. The moving bar c is arrangedunderneath this joint, and serves also to keep the rails together-thatis, from being detached. Tongues lc k and l L are formed on the bar e,the former to receive wedges n, and the latter entering notches in theunder side of the rails for securing them, in place. In order to retainthe rails firmly in place, and at the same time allow of their freemovement on bar c, I provide a block, m, and a sprin g-Wedge, n, whichare placed between the tongues or chairs k and the rails. The block fm,is formed with a rounded central lug which fits ina notch in the edge ofthe rails, and its ends are bev-I.`

eled or inclined from the center outward, "fas shown in Fig. 3. Thespring-wedges and iron ties to which I refer are fully described in anapplication for a patent therefor, `which I have led in the PatentOiice. The object in beveling the block m is to allow the rail to befreely moved, the center lugon it serving as a fulcrum for this purpose.I prefer to use these wedges also for retaining the other rails andfrogs in their chairs, andhave so shown them in the drawing.

The operation is as follows: If the train is on the track b I) at z, andit is desired to switch it onto track l, b, the guide-rails are brought`into the postion shown in the drawing, Fig. 1. Between the guide-railand the points of the frogs, the distance is but, say, half the revolution of a car-wheel, and this fact, in connection with this other, viz.,that the guiderails can be adj usted-that is, the switch operatedwithina width of three-fourths of an inch, whereas it formerly took fiveinches space, renders it much more reliable than switches in ordinaryuse.

By my improvements thefollowing great advantages are obtained: The useof the wood bed d allows the frogs to be made more cheaply, as onlyabout one-half as much metal is used. These frogs also, by theirconformation, always direct the train from themselves on to the maintrack, the rails on the frogs being so arranged relatively to each otheras to render 2. Thecoinbination of the wood bed d extending across thetrack from rail to rail, With frogs A, ties c, and bar e, as hereinshown and described.

3. The jointed guide-rails secured at the joint to the moving bar, incombination with the block m, and a Wedge, substantially in the mannerand for the purposes set forth.

To the above specication of my invention I have signed my name this 26thday of March, A. D. 1873.

C. H. WHITE.

Witnesses:

l W. H. FINoKnL, A. C. BRADLEY.

